Prepped for the Dead
by Stinkyfish98
Summary: What if Takashi had been prepared? Prepped!Takashi Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, this idea has been stuck in my head for the past month now and just won't leave me alone, so here's the story.

Summary: When a young Takashi gets into a stash of his father's old zombie movies he develops an obsession with the idea of a 'zombie'. He began to search the topic up online, read books about it, play video games with zombies in it, and researched everything he could find. Takashi's obsession slowly evolved into paranoia and this was accompanied with him beginning to condition his body, and train himself in the use of weapons. Over the years his constant training and research isolated him from his peers and he became known as the 'crazy child'. No one would ever have guessed Takashi's growing fears of the 'zombie apocalypse' would be rightfully placed.

* * *

Takashi Komuro - 6 years old

Takashi was sat about 5 inches from the small television set, staring in awe and wonder at the screen as yet another person was ripped apart by the small horde of undead. He didn't jump as the screen flickered in onto the gory scene, which, despite being in black and white, was still a pretty horrific looking mess as they had used real organs in the film, even if they were only from animals.

The film ended with only one of the characters surviving by making it to the military base and being rescued.

Hurriedly he pulled another random videotape from the cardboard box and pushed it into the old VCR. This film was a bit more modern, as it had color, but the picture was still a little grainy and dated.

Slowly but surely he fell back into his trance as he watched the film progress, sitting through the gory scenes without blinking. As the film ended he repeated the process from before and continued to do this until some time in the morning.

The scene his mother came in on was Takashi staring at the T.V. with bloodshot eyes and a pale complexion. She stood frozen for a moment and before she could make a move to see what was wrong the movie that was currently on ended, the screen going black. With that Takashi's eyes rolled into the back of his head and his head fell straight into the carpet.

It was then that his mother assessed the situation, looking at the empty cardboard box with 'Zombie Films' written on the side in permanent marker, and the stack of tapes next to Takashi. Making a mental note to interrogate her husband about the films she carefully lifted Takashi from the ground and placed him in his bed, pulling the covers over him to keep him comfortable.

With a smile she gave him a kiss on the forehead and whispered.

"You're lucky it's a Saturday."

She closed the blinds, blocking the sun light from getting into the room and left, shutting the door silently.

* * *

Takashi Komuro - 10 years old

"25!" Takashi growled out, falling to the ground as he finished his routine push-ups. His mother instantly began clapping.

"Good job Takashi!" She chirped as he lay panting on the ground, tired from his exertion.

"Thanks...Thanks mom." He breathed out as he worked to calm his breathing, pushing himself off the ground and ignoring the burning in his small arm muscles.

"Let me go get you a glass of water." Mrs. Komuro said as she stood quickly, leaving to the kitchen and returning a few seconds later, holding the glass of water out to Takashi, who was slipping on some running shoes. As he finished tying the laces he took the water and slurped it down thirstily, despite the cramps he was sure to get while running.

"Thanks again mom, I'll be back in a little bit!" He called over his shoulder as he flung the door open and ran out, heading in the direction of the gas station about 2 miles away.

Takashi's mother stood in the doorway watching with a worried look on her face as she watched her son continue at a steady pace down the sidewalk, waving at Old Lady Tanaka as he passed.

* * *

Takashi Komuro - 14 years old

As puberty hit Takashi's work outs started to pay off and his muscles had started becoming much more defined. It seemed Takashi's body would never become overly-muscular but he could still feel the improvement he was getting.

He could now do a respectable 100 push ups if he pushed himself to it, but would end up being sore for the rest of the day, and run a good 10 miles if he kept a good pace and didn't over exert.

Sitting at a desk in his pitch black room, whilst staring at a computer screen was probably not good for his eyes but he had bigger things to worry about, or he thought he did. Scrolling down the page he gave a gasp as a real beauty appeared before his eyes. This would definitely be his weapon of choice. The Cold Steel Special Forces Shovel.

The instant he saw it he knew it was the perfect weapon for him. So, with a silent promise to his mother that he would repay her, he clicked the 'purchase' and proceeded to enter all the necessary information.

When he finished with this he quickly switched off the page to a new tab. Typing into the search tab he was about to continue along with his research until a loud yell came from down stairs.

"Takashi, get your butt down here!" Standing up quickly he hurried down to explain to his mother what he had spent nearly 2200 yen on.

* * *

Takashi Komuro - 16 years old

_Gnawing teeth. Bone snapping as limbs were torn from bodies. Flesh being ripped into. _

Takashi sat up from his bed, sweat sticking to his back as his eyes flickered around the room. His hand instinctively went to grip the shovel that had become his only source of comfort.

"Another nightmare..." Takashi spoke into the darkness, closing his eyes to calm himself before he stood, releasing his grip on the weapon as he did so. Walking over to his desk he looked at the mess of papers scattered around, and the numerous neatly stacked piles that would make any parent proud... if it was school work. Oh no, this was all related to his research on the Z's. One stack of papers held numerous plant species that could be ingested safely or used for poison. Another stack held numerous maps of the area and surrounding areas.

The papers scattered around his desk right now consisted of the various types of zombies an apocalypse could consist of. There could be the slow moving, horde type zombies or the agile and quick lone wolf types. There could be mutated types and intelligent types. There could be zombies that attracted other zombies! The possibilities were endless, but if there was a characteristic, it would be in this mess of papers.

Takashi had already read through it all numerous times. Every single paper, and then some. Realizing it was a Saturday he went to start on his routine. He changed into his clothes, which consisted of a light short sleeved black shirt and green pants that had at least 6 pockets. Over his shirt he wore a lightweight green leather jacket that clung to his skin. He also slipped on a pair of brown leather gloves and lastly he had a pair of black light hiking boots.

He was still distantly friends with Rei, but the last thing he had heard from her was that she now had a boyfriend, some guy named Hisashi. His mind drifted back to when they were children, before he realized that he should start preparing, back to when they made an idiotic promise that they would get married when they were older.

Shaking his head to clear them of those thoughts his mind wandered ver to his other distant friend. Saya Takagi. At first when he told her of these thoughts she had laughed and assumed he was joking. When he went further in depth and stated he was completely serious she had counted him off as an insane person, but still remained his friend... for some reason.

Walking down stairs his mother was quite startled when he seemingly appeared inside of the kitchen.

"My goodness Takashi, I thought I told you not to do your little sneaking technique when you're behind me!" She exclaimed, referencing his attempted training at distributing his weight across his feet to make him step lighter. It worked to some extent. He could still be heard if the house was completely silent. It did come with the added bonus of better balance, however.

"Sorry mom." He apologized sheepishly, giving a smile while rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment.

"It's okay dear, I'm starting to get used to it anyways." She mused, before taking a look at the weapon in his hand.

"I take it you're going to go wave that thing around like you usually do?" She asked casually.

"It's not 'waving it around' mom! It's my training! I gotta keep up my skills for when _it _starts!" He whined, turning to make his leave into the backyard.

"Ohhh, there you go again with your vague and mysterious talk. You kids these days!" Mrs. Komuro teased, before focusing back on the breakfast she was cooking.

Outside Takashi got into his stance, arms hanging at his sides. Suddenly, in one quick and graceful movement, his arm lashed out with frightening efficiency as the razor sharp edge sliced through the air horizontally before coming back diagonally to cross over the previous slash. Two attacks, both aimed at head height.

Passersby would watch quizzically as he repeated movements like these, coming in different angles and sometimes throwing in a stab or a leg sweep and what would be a finisher to a downed foe as he stabbed the weapon into the ground.

* * *

6 months before Z-day - Doctor's office

"So do you think there is anything wrong with him? Mentally I mean." Mrs. Komuro asked the therapeutic doctor standing before her.

"Oh no Mrs. Komuro. Maybe a tiny anxiety problem but other than that he is the pinnacle of health, both mentally and physically. Do _you _think there might be something wrong with him?" The doctor asked seriously, hearing the worry in the mother's voice.

"N-no... I suppose I don't..." She answered quietly closing her eyes to think of the boy currently sitting in the room over. Her boy. Her son.

* * *

_The day the world came to an end... everything went like normal that day. He hugged his mother as they parted ways, told her to be safe and that he loved her, and went to school..._


	2. Chapter 2

**Gorbad Ironclaw**: I have to agree with you. I would love to see more stories with a more prepared Takashi.

Can't wait for season 2 of the anime. Gonna be great...

* * *

Takashi was leaning back against the railing of the roof, small notebook open while jotting down notes with a pencil. Every few seconds he would glance at the backpack sitting on the ground next to him. In his head he quickly listed off the multiple things he had in it, making sure he hadn't forgotten anything important.

_Binoculars, some notes, shovel as well as the sheathe, file to sharpen... yea, it's all there. _With a sigh he flipped to a blank page in the small notebook, pencil brushing against the paper as he started to begin the writing.

A clanging sound from the gate stopped him from writing anything, and when he looked over his shoulder at what had disturbed the quiet he was surprised to see a figure attempting to get through the main entrance to the school.

"An... intruder...? No... it couldn't be.. no one is stupid enough to try breaking in through the front gate..." His eyes widened just a fraction as he turned completely, gripping the railing until his knuckles were white.

Some teachers emerged from the school and walked over to the figure, calling out and telling the person to leave. Moving quickly he zipped open his backpack and pulled out the binoculars, turning back to the scene to see one of the teachers on the ground with a bleeding arm, the others surrounding him. Looking through the binoculars he saw the teacher who was just _bitten _attack one of the other teachers.

A chill settled over his skin as he put the binoculars back into his backpack, pulling out the sheathed shovel and tying it around his thigh so he could get to it easier. His brain was already processing where to go and how to escape. Thanking the fact that the only two of his friends were in the same class he ran down the stairs and to their classroom. 2-B.

"Komuro! Not only are you skippi- is that a weapon you have!?" Ignoring the teacher's heated questions he marched straight over to Saya, who he knew would at least hear him out.

"Takashi? What are you doing here?" Saya questioned, honest curiosity working it's way into her voice.

"Takagi. It's fucking happening. No bullshit." He announced, loud and clear for the rest of the class to hear. Immediately laughter broke out from those who knew who he was, while questions of 'What's 'it'" came from those who didn't know him. Saya sighed, cheeks red from the embarrassing situation she was now in, obviously not believing him.

"Listen Takashi, I have tried to explain to you many times that-" Not having the time for this shit, he turned away and began walking for the door.

"Better escape quick you know. This room is just a buffet table waiting to happen." Stopping at the door, he turned and looked over the class. "They're already in school grounds. Two teachers at the gate have already been infected."

With that he left the room, not bothering to close the door behind him. He was definitely surprised when he heard the teacher in the classroom yelling.

"Takagi-san! Class is not over yet, where are you going?! Why are you taking Hirano-san with you?!" Hearing the door slide shut behind him he looked over his shoulder to see Saya and another boy standing there, Saya looking at him angrily while the boy just looked surprised and embarrassed.

"Why did you follow me?" He asked, motioning for them to follow, which they did.

"Well, I already know that you're crazy, but I've never seen you look so worked up over nothing. So what happened?"

"There was one at the gate, trying to get in. Some teachers went over to it, thinking that it was just a normal person, and when one of them stupidly stuck his arm through the gate he was bit. When he revived he attacked one of the other teachers there." He explained, his pace steadily increasing as he did so.

"Uh, if you don't mind me asking, what is 'it'?" The chubby boy asked.

"Ever play video games?" Takashi asked, figuring this would be the easiest way to explain it.

"Of course."

"Zombies."

"A-are you serious?"

"As Takashi Komuro I am always serious, and according to Takagi, just a little bit insane." Taking that as an introduction, Kohta returned the gesture.

"Kohta Hirano..."

"So why are we going to the roof Takashi?" Saya asked, recognizing the route they were taking.

"When everyone else finds out what's going on there is going to be mass panic. The hallways will be flooded, people will be trampled, and anyone that does make it outside is just a meal to them." He explained, then as an afterthought added. "..and I forgot my backpack up there."

When they reached the stairs they stopped for a moment to rest, although Takashi didn't need to. While they were resting an announcement came over the speakers.

"Attention all students and teachers. Attention all students and teachers. At this time there is a violent struggle occurring on the premises. Students, stay with your teachers and follow instructions." A crashing sound could be heard in the background and at this he grabbed the arms of his shocked, pale faced companions and began pulling them up the stairs as he broke into a fast run.

"**AAAAAAAAAH! HELP ME! STO- IT HUURTS! I'M GOING TO D-**" The announcement was cut off and nothing but the sound of their feet hitting the steps of the stairs could be heard in the halls.

When they reached the roof they heard the sounds of rioting break out in the lower floors. It seemed Takashi had been right and mass panic had caused everyone to rush for the exits. Or in a better sense, towards their deaths.

"Takashi. I can't believe it. You were ri-" Saya began in a shaky voice.

"I don't want to hear that right now." Takashi growled, leading them over to the small observatory. After they had barricaded the steps they all sat down, leaning against the railing.

Takashi was jotting down things in his notebook, and if you leaned close enough could hear him muttering things to himself at a rapid pace.

"Takes about 5 seconds to turn, although could vary between people. Extremely hostile. Feed on live humans, and possible other animals."

Saya seemed to be collecting herself as she got over the shock that she had been wrong all those times she had told Takashi that he was insane and that a Zombie Apocalypse couldn't happen.

Kohta was also in a slight state of shock, but his thoughts were in turmoil.

_This is my chance. I've had the training no one else around here has. I can survive this. I can thrive... if I get a gun..._

They were all jumped up in fright when numerous black-hawks zipped over head.

"Self defense force?" Kohta murmured, disbelief tinging his voice.

Takashi didn't say anything as they looked out over the town. Black smoke plumes rising out of numerous spots, and small groups of Them wandering around. Even he couldn't quite believe it had happened so quickly.

They were all startled from their thoughts by the shifting of the barricade as something bashed against it.

"I wonder what attracted them over here? The sound of the helicopters? The smell of us, live humans? Maybe they can just sense that we're around?" He mused, now looking over the roof that seemed to be flooded with Them.

Takashi mentally cursed as he looked back at his companions, neither of them having anything to protect themselves.

"Kohta!" He called, drawing the boys attention from the place that was once their town over to Takashi.

"Y-yes?"

"Do you have anything that you're good with, weapon wise?"

"Any gun you can find." Kohta answered confidently, pride lacing his voice. Takashi allowed a brief look of surprise to cross his face before nodding his head in approval. Saya, meanwhile, had thrown her hands up in victory.

"I knew it!" She exclaimed.

"Knew what?" Kohta asked, both him and Takashi looking puzzled.

"That you were some kind of basement dwelling gun freak!" She happily explained, apparently unaware of Kohta's feelings as he sulked in the corner, pushing his fingers together sadly, tears running down his face.

"It's not like that at all." He mumbled to himself, broken from his depressed stupor when Takashi laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry. If you're as good as I imagine she'll be getting wet just seeing you with a gun soon enough." He said sympathetically, voice just above a whisper. He broke out into laughter mere seconds later as Kohta began sputtering out denials, his entire face red. A crack and loud groan from the barricade brought them back to their current situation as They pushed against it once more.

Takashi looked around, for some easy way to get rid of their current problems. Seeing none he turned to Saya.

"Any ideas?" He asked, crossing his arms in boredom.

"One or two." She idly commented while wandering over to the door of the observatory, peeking inside she spotted the metal fire hose box, and opened it up. She moved to the side and presented it to the other two watching. "I would say this would be a solution. Fire hoses are extremely high pressure, and are sometimes used for crowd control due to how powerful they are."

"Perfect!" Takashi, grabbed the nozzle, dragging the heavy hose out enough so he could point it straight at the tables and chairs making their barricade.

"Alright. Turn it on!" He ordered, bracing himself for the blast of pressure that exploded out of the nozzle. The tabled flew out out as the concentrated blast of water smashed into the back of them, knocking away all of Them that were trying to get in just moments before.

"We're good." Takashi shouted, prompting Saya to shut off the water. When the hose finally cleared itself he tossed it to the side and slid his weapon out of it's sheath.

"But how do we get past all of them?" Kohta asked, looking warily out over at the rest of Them on the roof.

"Stick close to me and other no circumstances should you engage." Takashi answered, not even looking at them as he answered. With slow, but purposeful strides he began to walk down the steps, swinging his weapon experimentally through the air as he slung his backpack over one shoulder.

The closest one of Them began to shamble over, one leg dragging along behind him. Takashi glanced at it, and once in range, lashed out with his weapon. The razor-sharp shovel carved through the air horizontally and met with the undead's head. With just slight resistance it went cleanly through and lopped off the top of the former-human's cranium, blood spraying all over his arm as the body fell to the ground like a puppet with it's strings cut..

A vicious smile came across his face as he looked at all of Them closing in on his position. This is what he now lived for. This was the world that they now lived in. The only thing that mattered was survival.

* * *

I'm still trying to get into the groove of all the personalities in HotD, although they aren't very hard to understand.

Review, and all that junk.


	3. Chapter 3

I'm a little surprised at how successful this story is right now... I can only hope to live up to all of your expectations.

* * *

The blood was spraying as he ran ahead, shovel striking out furiously at any of the dead unlucky enough to be in his way, or close enough to get to his... current friends.

He took a quick glance over his shoulder to make sure that the other two were still there, and let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding. It was nerve-wracking knowing that at any moment one of the two could suddenly not be there, nabbed off to the side and feasted upon while he kept running ahead, blissfully unaware.

Staving his concern for the moment he went back to concentrating on keeping Them out of reach, lashing out another strike and watching with grim satisfaction as the body fell to the ground.

When they finally reached the door to the stairs he ushered them in after making sure it was clear. Just as the rest of Them on the roof were about to reach the doorway he slammed it shut, making sure to lock it before taking lead once more, making his quiet steps down the stairs carefully.

It was ironic how _empty _the school felt. The tension was crackling in the air as they walked down the empty halls, just waiting for something to jump out at them. Then it happened. An ear-splitting scream erupted from further down the hall, making Takashi break into a run, the others following example.

The sight they arrived was a confusing one to him, but Kohta and Saya seemed to understand. Rei was slumped on the ground, breaking down over the body of someone who had obviously turned awhile ago.

"Isn't that Hisashi?" He heard Kohta mutter behind him, staring at the scene sadly.

"Yup." Saya replied, equally effected.

Hisashi... why did that name sound so familiar to him? Oh yes. The boyfriend. He instantly understood what had happened when he picked up some of Rei's shaky mumblings.

"Told me to run... said you'd be okay..." Tears streamed down her face, while Takashi looked at the other two in their presence. Purple hair and a bokken were what stood out to him at first glance, and judging from the fresh blood on the blade she had been the one to end Hisashi, permanently. A busty blond was what caught his attention next, her long dress torn to free up movement. Wasn't that the school nurse?

He let out a light cough, bringing the other groups attention to them.

"Uh... Hi?" He said with a slight wave of his hand.

"Hello, I'm Saeko Busujima, Senior, Class A, and I take it you know nurse Marikawa." Saeko greeted, a kind smile gracing her face.

"Takashi Komuro, all of us are Sophomores from class B."

"S-Saya Takagi." Saya introduced herself apprehensively, unsure if this is what they should be doing at the moment.

"Kohta Hirano."

"_You..._" Hissed Rei, making them all look at her as she trembled on the ground in front of her fallen lover, glaring at Takashi.

"Me?" Takashi asked, pointing at himself.

"If you had told me about what was going on then Hisashi would still be alive. Instead you went to that bitch and her fat friend." She accused, a hollow smile forming on her face. "Or maybe you just wanted revenge about that stupid promise from when we were kids."

Takashi just stared as she went on.

"I hope you die Takashi, just as you let Hisashi." She seethed with anger, and Takashi's growing smirk only made the girl more bloodthirsty.

"I haven't prepared for this my entire life just to become one of the things I've been working to kill. My death is going to be much more extravagant. Fuck, maybe I'll just end up saving your ass and going down in a blaze of glory, letting my best friend Kohta here finish me off from a distance with a bullet to the brain, or maybe letting Saeko there lop off my head as an act of honor or whatever." Everyone looked at him in shock, even Rei at the moment. "But, I don't intend to let that ever happen, and we need to get out of here before they start to swarm us, that scream probably attracted them... any ideas?"

Shizuka almost immediately spoke up.

"The micro-buses!" She exclaimed

* * *

The group was currently taking a rest in the faculty room, with Takashi and Kohta just finishing barricading the door.

Rei was currently watching the T.V. the moment of aggression from before gone as she watched in morbid fascination. Takashi walked over and looked at the scene, body bags in the background abruptly sitting up.

"I wonder if the infection has to be in the body before death or if it can be introduced to an already dead body to work?" He mused, tempted to pull out his notebook right there and start jotting down notes.

The scene cut off and they were suddenly watching just the newsroom, the people saying that they would be broadcasting from there now. The news people made some unbelievable story about _rioting_. Like that was going to stop the panic. There was fucking _nukes _being prepared. Nukes for rioters? What kind of bullshit was that?

None of them said anything as the full weight of what was going on finally sunk in.

"Ms. Shizuka, where are the keys?" He mumbled the question, unsure if she was stable at the moment.

"They're just in here." She stated cheerily, as if oblivious to what was going on, while she pulled open a drawer and revealed the sets of keys.

Nodding, he looked back at the screen before letting out a heavy sigh.

* * *

They were back on the move. After the short rest they had grabbed the keys and began making their way to the Micro-bus.

The steady pace they had set for themselves faltered when _another_ scream pierced the air. Just down the stairs they saw another group of stude- no, survivors with their backs to the wall.

They didn't need to say anything as they effortlessly dealt with Them.

"Any of you bitten?" Takashi asked, looking the group over carefully.

"Huh? N-no, none of us are bitten!" One of the girls exclaimed, knowing well enough what being bitten entailed.

"Well, if you want to come with us you better expect to pull your own weight." Saya stated, a smug smirk on her face, causing him to sweatdrop.

"I don't think you of all people should be saying that." She ignored his comment, and he just decided to continue on.

They soon found their exit blocked by quite a few of Them simply ambling around the open area. Takashi held up a closed fist, drawing everyone to a stop.

Slowly, he began walking out into the middle, ignoring the harsh whispers from everyone to come back.

Looking around, he noted that they didn't seem to be able to see, and therefore relied on either hearing or smell to find people. He picked up the shoe that was by his feet, probably lost by some unfortunate soul in the initial panic, and threw it off into the distance, causing a large noise that echoed in the area, drawing most of them over. He made the motion to move up and walked over to the doors, checking outside before holding them open and making sure everyone got through.

One of the boys just had to be carrying around some long pole-like thing and just managed to be stupid enough to let the end of it smack into the railing, sending a very loud ping out that echoed around the whole school. It was basically a dinner bell.

"Fuuuuck." Takashi cursed, sending the guy a glare before turning to the rest of the group. "Don't stop running, don't look back no matter what."

At the order everyone took off into a dead sprint for the buses, not even faltering in their step when the same boy who got them in the situation god grabbed, bitten, and dragged to the ground by a small group of them. They did however try to convince his girlfriend to not go after him, which she blatantly ignored.

When they reached the micro bus Takashi stood by the door. For the thousandth time that day. _What the fuck am I, the Doorman of the Apocalypse?_

Just when they were about to take off a loud shout for help stopped them. There apparently just had to be another group that would probably just end up screwing them over. Takashi watched as the former teacher smashed his foot into the former students face, leaving him behind to be feasted on.

"Wow. What a sick fuck." He murmured, contemplating stopping the man and doing the exact same thing to him before he got on the bus. Against the very best of his judgement he let the man on with no complaints or anything, and they took off like a bat out of hell, Shizuka having to repeat the mantra of 'They're not human anymore' to herself just to avoid swerving whenever one of Them got in the way of the bus.

He honestly felt bad for the women. Being someone who works to help and cure other people it must have felt pretty shitty not being able to do anything for those who are bitten, and behind that ditzy face she put on he had a feeling that the women was hurting, hurting real bad.

He let a tired smile come across his face as he braced himself when they smashed through the gate, out into the freedom of the open world.

* * *

Yes, the shortest chapter so far, but I just wanted to get out of this god-forsaken school. I have so many things planned for here on after.

Seeing as this is a HotD fanfic I am most certainly going to give my attempts at a pairing. For now, said pairing will remain a secret, but I can tell you that it will not happen for a looooong time, and will be something that (to my own knowledge) has not been done before. If you can't figure it out with that then I don't know what to tell you.

Anyway, review and all that junk.


	4. Chapter 4

Reviews:

**Gorbad Ironclaw**: I have to say, you're name reminds me of someone I used to roll with in Guild Wars 2. And I think only doing that to Shido would be to little a punishment, no I have something much better in mind. I could see where the gas station guy was coming from honestly. Dude just offed his entire family, that would fuck almost anybody up. That pairing... I could only see something like that working out if someone came up with the fucked up plot where Takashi managed to get corrupted by Shido and stays with him. It would only be a lemon though. It should downright just never happen.

**badkarma00**: I know, right? I just wish I could grow extra fingers sometimes! I find it pretty funny you went from liking the start of my story to the idea to just loving it. ;D Thanks for the continued support!

* * *

Takashi sat in the single seat with his elbow propped up against the slight edge, resting his chin in the palm of his hand as he stared out at the passing city.

"Why do we have to be with you guys?! You all decided on where to go without even considering us!" Tsunoda shouted, just as he had been since they left the school and decided to head to the city to find Rei's family. Takashi had been simply ignoring him for the past while but this had caught his attention.

"I don't think you seem to understand your situation." He idly commented, still staring out the window.

"What was that you little prick!?" The boy shouted, beginning to advance on him. He simply gave a glance.

"We pulled _you _out of the fire, not the other way around. You're in no position to be deciding where we go..." He thought for a moment, adding quickly afterwards. "..or how fast we're going to get there."

"I'm going to fucking kill you!" The boy yelled, throwing a fist at his head. He calmly leaned back and let the enraged Tsunoda smash his fist against the window. It definitely seemed to hurt him seeing as he was writhing in pain on the floor but it left nary a scratch in the window. It seems that Shido saw this as his chance to intervene and stood up, clapping his hands.

"Quite the impressive display the Komuro-san. You will make a great enforcer for our little group, but the main priority we need to sort out is a leader... someone who can teach all of you little children how to survive in this new, harsh, and most certainly dangerous environment."

"And lemme guess, there's only one person who could shoulder the burden?" Saya asked sarcastically as she adjusted the glasses further up her nose.

"I am a teacher, Takagi-san, and you are all but students. I am the only one qualifi-" Shido explained as if he were talking to a baby.

"Were." Takashi interrupted.

"Pardon?" Shido asked, not fully understanding the meaning behind the one simple word.

"We _were _all students and you _were _a teacher. Our lives are both ending, and beginning anew. We are all just survivors in one fucked up place now."

"Oh Komuro-san, it's not too late! The government could still help us, and I'm sure there are some other survivors like us out there, all waiting to be united under one group, with one leader. Me!" Shido cheerily explained, the group that arrived with him beginning to clap at the sheer 'greatness' of their teacher.

Their clapping was ceased by the quiet giggles that were quickly becoming mad laughter, specifically from Takashi. He ended up having to gasp for breaths, holding his sides as if they hurt, once he managed to compose himself he fixed Shido with a grin.

"Ohh, people called me crazy for years, but you're just one messed up little fruitcake, aren't ya? Probably were before this whole thing started!" Another fit of giggles broke from him. "There always is someone like you, just hoping to swoop in and save the day, getting everyone's love, and appreciation."

In an instant Shido found himself on the ground, the end of Takashi's shovel drawing blood from his throat.

"What are you doing to Shido-sensei!?" One of the girls screamed, but did nothing to try to help her teacher.

"News flash motherfucker, I'm not letting my chances of survival be ruined by some sick, mentally deranged piece of shit with an equally sick and mentally deranged dream." He leaned in close and whispered it to the man. Shido's mind couldn't take it, he broke. Tears flooded out of his eyes and he gained a neat little twitch from Takashi's threats. He also seemed to have pissed himself, much to Takashi's everlasting disgust.

Takashi spat on the ground next to the man and pulled his weapon away, going back to sit in his seat and stare out the window some more, leaving the sniveling Shido to be comforted by the ever so loyal students.

It seemed the display had also sent some of his own members into shock at the brutality, save for Saeko and surprisingly Kohta, who only seemed relish in the older man's pain.

He gave a sigh as he stood and went to the door, brushing past Saeko on the way.

"I need to get some air." Was all he had grumbled to her, and she only nodded in reply, some understanding flashing through her eyes.

* * *

Takashi couldn't believe the pure irony of the situation. It seemed whatever god there was only got pissed at him for harming Shido and split him off from the bus with a burning truck. Agreeing to meet at the police station they went their separate ways, everyone that wasn't with Shido worrying for Takashi, who in fact had a relatively calm mind considering that he was all alone. He knew Saeko would put down any rebellion that managed to worm it's way into Shido's member's heads so he really had nothing to worry about.

He managed to avoid what was either bad timing or an ambush set by on of Them, wearing the gear of a former biker. Due to the helmet he had to sever the head at the neck, something which took a considerable amount of strength.

He managed to find the former biker's actual bike, and after swiping the keys from the beheaded corpse, got it up and running. After a few test revs he took off, going as fast as the bike could go with one person, which was in fact quite fast. Somewhere around 70 MPH, a speed which got Takashi's heart pumping and his adrenaline flowing.

Soon enough he found himself at an intersection with a wrecked police car. He wasn't sure if the men inside died in the crash, or were the cause of the crash for already being dead. With his imagination getting the better of him he did a quick search of the car, finding only a gun and around 10 bullets.

_Guess I'll get to see if Kohta is as good as he boasts._ He smirked, thinking of his new friend as he pressed the release button, the cylinder swinging out to the left as he did so.

With a quick flip of his wrist the cylinder closed and he set off again on the bike, taking note that he had just enough gas to get where he was going.

* * *

He hadn't included the possibility of a horde blocking his way. He stared at the mass of Them moving down the rode before making a quick turn off the side road and heading off in the direction of a gas station he recognized to be up ahead. He was aware that the noise had probably gotten him some unwanted attention so he only willed the machine to move faster. He pulled up next to the gas pump and nearly fell over with how fast he came to a stop. He hopped off the bike and sprinted inside to get some cash for the self-use gas.

After he smashed the cash register open he sprinted back outside, only to have to limbo under a knife swiped at his head. He twisted quickly and pulled the shovel from it's sheathe, hacking at the back of whatever attacked him's legs.

"AHHHHHHGah!" A bloodcurdling scream made him refocus on his target which was obviously a human, who was now bleeding out from the deep gash that was cut into the back of his arm.

He only caught glimpses of the large man's broken mutterings.

"First I had to kill mom, then pop, then my own brother and sister, and lastly my grandma. All with a bash to the head, hehehehe." His insane laughter broke down into more crying. Takashi glanced at the approaching horde and then pulled the pistol from his pocket.

As he drove away from the bright gas station he reflected how he had spared the man the hells of becoming one of Them. He spared him with a bullet to the brain.

* * *

Takashi weaved expertly through the stragglers in the fire-ridden town, swerving to avoid a shotgun blast from one of the humans still left alive in the place. It honestly hadn't surprised him to see the humans trying to kill him, as he had expected something like it to happen.

He swerved around a burning car and never looked back as he got closer and closer to the bridge that he would have to cross to get to the designated meeting point.

* * *

Imagine his surprise as he didn't even need to get to the police station, finding his group just walking in his direction down the sidewalk of the bridge he was on.

"Hey, guys!" He called, waving his hand as he pulled the gas-empty motorcycle over to them. They all looked both relieved and surprised to see him.

"Takashi!" Were the calls from Kohta, Saya. Saeko meanwhile stayed much more subdued and polite.

"I'm glad to see you unharmed, Komuro-kun."

Rei just looked at him and turned away with a 'Hmph', crossing her arms and pouting like a child, although a bit of concern did show on her features.

"Ah, I'm glad to see you guys are all okay, considering who I left you with."

"Bah, he was still the mess you left him, didn't even protest as we got off the bus." Kohta answered, and as he looked at the other boy his eyes lit up as he remembered what he found.

"Kohta, check this out!" He exclaimed, pulling the gun from his pocket. Immediately stars twinkled in Kohta's eyes and he snatched the gun from Takashi's hands, looking over it as if it were the greatest thing he has ever seen.

"This is a Smith and Wesson M37 Air Weight!" He said in awe, and then did the one thing Takashi had never expected and hugged him, tears filling Kohta's eyes. "I can never repay you, I am in your debt."

Takashi was definitely surprised and awkwardly patted Kohta on the back, cringing at the direct contact as the girls all just laughed at them, even Saeko allowing herself a light chuckle.

"Y-yea... I have an idea of what you can do to repay me, but we'll talk about that once we're somewhere safe. Anyone got any ideas?"

It was surprisingly Shizuka _again_ who came up with a safe place to stay, and with a destination in mind they all set out, Takashi opting to leave the worthless bike their seeing as it would just be dead weight without any gas.

* * *

Review and all that junk.


	5. Chapter 5

Reviews:

**NewAgeOfPower**: I have to give my thanks. Your post is one of the most constructive criticisms that I have ever gotten. **(SPOILER!)** I'll tell you right now that Rika and Takashi will be the pairing, but I have NEVER seen another story with them in it. (Probably a harem, but I fucking abhor harems) So if you could reference a story with these two that would be great because I would absolutely love to read it. Thanks!

**Gorbad Ironclaw**: If the guy had made a threatening move to anyone that he knew, that probably would have happened. It seemed to me that most of the students in his little cult were indoctrinated long before anything ever went down. Even after everything he caused in HotD they _still _fucking stuck with him. Only someone who has been controlled for quite a long time would take to following a guy to such lengths...and did you just make a Living Colour reference?

**chrojoh**: Of course. I'm not too much of a fan of oc's.

I thank all of you for your continued support.

* * *

Kohta and Hirano both sat on the bed, staring at the safe, loud giggling coming from the bathroom.

"Huh, wonder if there's anything in there to 'protect them from'?" Kohta perversely suggested.

"We have more important things to worry about...right now, at least." Takashi responded, grabbing the crowbar and marching over to the unopened side. Jamming the prying side into it he gave a single push and it burst open, making him stumble forward slightly.

"Just what kind of friends does Miss Shizuka have?" Kohta questioned with a mad grin on his face as he looked over the inside of the locker, making Takashi peek in as well.

"Smart ones, is what I would say." He murmured, slight excitement swelling in his chest at the sight of a rifle. He had always wanted to learn how to use one but that was one thing his mother wouldn't let him get, sadly.

"I think I would have to agree!" The gun-nut cheerily exclaimed, snatching up the closest thing and beginning to recite some interesting facts about it. "A Knight's SR equipped with a scope...? No...you can't get that kind of thing in Japan so it must be an AR-10 modified from top to bottom! There's also a crossbow in there! That's like a descendant of something robin hood would use. It's a Barnett Wildcat C5, a hunting crossbow made in England."

Takashi pulled the last thing from the gun-locker and presented it, practically seeing Kohta's eyes sparkle.

"That's an Ithaca M35 Riot Shotgun! Designed by an American, it was used in Vietnam. Really a badass shotgun!" Takashi was still eying the rifle, which was really the only thing he wanted to know how to use. He held out the Ithaca with the barrel pointed upwards, holding the pump. Kohta raised a brow.

"Your interested in my AR?" Unable to contain himself he nodded his head excitedly. With a shrug Kohta held out the weapon and they traded, with Kohta marveling over how the Ithaca felt and Takashi just getting a feel for holding the rifle. He took note of the bipod, and turned to his companion.

"Lets get these loaded." They shared a nod and filled their arms with all the ammunition in the locker, laying it out on the bed along with the magazines for the AR.

"So where did you get your training?" Takashi questioned, sliding another bullet into the magazine he was loading.

"When I was in America I got some training from a Blackwater instructor for a month." Kohta responded, another madman grin donning his face as his shoulders shook from silent laughter.

"Impressive." Takashi let out a low whistle of appreciation. "Were you planning to go into the military or something?"

The question caught Kohta a little of guard and it took him a moment to respond.

"No... I just wanted to live a normal life after I got out of school... if everyone had just left me alone..." Kohta quieted, and Takashi glanced at his friend.

"You would have been great for the military career Kohta. Besides, almost everyone that bullied you in school are dead, yet you're still alive. What does that say?" He gave a small smile of reassurance. "I couldn't have asked for a better friend for this."

After pushing the last bullet in he put the clip down and stood up, stretching until a satisfying crack resounded from his back. Grabbing the remote, he turned on the T.V., finding that every station was on the news. Their peaceful quiet was broken from some jackass on the news preaching about how everything was the governments fault and that the disease was the result of collaboration between the Japanese and American government to develop new weapons.

They then zoomed in on the side of the bridge being swarmed. Specifically notable was the mother carrying her obviously dead daughter screaming about how they were alive, only to be bitten in the neck and having her flesh ripped away by her recently turned child. This further riled the protestors and they said they needed to stop the 'needless savagery'.

"Heh. If I was god or something I would personally make every single guard on that bridge disappear just to see what a dickhead like him would do." Takashi proclaimed, silencing once more as the police man who had approached the leader raised his gun and pulled the trigger with no hesitation. The picture immediately changed to the inside of the newsroom.

"That didn't look good..." Kohta murmured, only to flinch away when arms snaked their way around Takashi's neck.

He stiffened at the contact but knew that the place was safe, and didn't want to risk hurting whoever was grabbing onto him, only to immediately find out when a gigantic pair of breasts were swung into his cheek, and a soft kiss was planted on his cheek. One of the hands also seemed to get dangerously close to his pants, threatening to go down into them before he jumped up.

"Komuroooo-kun!" The voice of the one and only Shizuka whined out at the loss of her toy.

"We had alcohol? This whole time!?" Takashi questioned, immediately understanding just what was wrong with his 'responsible sensei'.

"Just a tiiiiiny bit of it!" Takashi deadpanned.

"You drank it all, didn't you?"

"Yup!"

"Damn." He mumbled, crossing his arms. Shizuka turned and spread her arms in a hug, almost causing the towel to fall.

"Koooouta-chaaan!" She exclaimed, giving him a small hug, then a kiss on the cheek causing blood to spurt out of the nose and his eyes to gloss over.

"Oh no! We lost one!" Takashi exclaimed, rushing over to aid his friend. "Kohta, quickly, go get rid of your boner by staring at all the nasty zombie girls outside!"

Shizuka fell onto his back, obviously a bit exhausted. He ignored Kohta's dumb exclamations of "Okay, Okay" as he left, obviously not in a healthy state of mind at the moment.

Sighing, he grabbed Shizuka's ass before she slid off his back, not much caring if she didn't have clothes or not.

"Nyah!" She exclaimed erotically, twirling his hair around her finger. "You're just a little pervert, Komuro-kun. We can't have that!"

Fighting back the current half-mast he gathered his will and pressed onwards down the stairs.

After reaching the living room he had to avert his eyes from the sleeping, unaware Saya, repeating in his head. _For Kohta, For Kohta, For Kohta._He lay Shizuka down on a mat, pulling a blanket over her to keep her warm and quickly escaped, heart pumping faster than it ever had before. He found himself wandering to the kitchen and was caught off-guard when _Saeko_ of all people was standing there with almost nothing on at all. He saw her look over at him, but quickly avert her eyes, face red.

"Uh, you seem to have a bit of a... ahem.. problem, Komuro-kun." A groan of frustration nearly left his mouth and he sent off a hasty goodbye, rushing upstairs. Strange, he hadn't seen Rei anywhere.

He met up with Kohta outside, binoculars to his eyes and his face hard.

"It's a slaughter out there, Takashi." He mumbled, handing him the binoculars before turning and going back inside, face down. Hormone problems forgotten he looked over just some of the devastation in the going on. One person being held down and torn into, pieces of skin being stripped off like the skin from fried chicken. Another person being cornered, with no chance of escape. One thing that caught his eye, however, was the sight of a little girl and her father approaching a house with lights on, obviously people inside. He unintentionally let out a growl when the father hadn't closed the gate, leaving them vulnerable.

There appeared to be some kind of conflict and the man raised his weapon, which was when Takashi saw how this situation would turn out. Everything seemed to slow around him and he could hear his heartbeat in his ears as the door slowly creaked open, a sound which he heard from the balcony, but was really imagining it. He heard the man give his thanks, and less than a split second later get stabbed by another father who was repeatedly apologizing this. It was strange how in this moment his mind had completely imagined the whole conflict, but it played out exactly like he imagined it to. Maybe he had prepared a little too much?

When his eyes saw that little girl crying over her fathers body as the other family left her to die his blood ran cold and he knew the exact answer to his own question. He hadn't prepared enough.

"Kohta! Cover me!" He called, trusting his friend would arrive in seconds and do just that. He placed a single foot on the railing and looked down, a lead ball forming in his gut. Shaking away the feeling he leaped off, landing on the roof of the lower building with a roll to minimize any damage. He did the same to the ground and in second was up, rushing in the direction of the house. His adrenaline was pumping as he cut down anything in his way and he faintly heard the sound of gunshots going off and taking out some of Them further up ahead.

It took quite a while and quite a bit of his energy to get to the house, but he made it. When he got there he was a bit irritated to find a body blocking the gate, and making unable to close it. Wasting no time he ignored the issue and ran towards the two of Them approaching the girl in the corner, a small dog barking at them and standing protectively in front of her. Two heads were almost instantly rolling on the ground and he allowed himself a small breath, only a shriek from the girl bringing his attention to the one sneaking up behind him. His hand waved almost lazily out and he was a bit surprised with the resistance his blade met as it tried to go through the muscles and bone in the things neck. Figuring he had to sharpen his blade when he got home he put it back into it's sheathe and turned to the cowering girl.

"Come on, lets get you out of here."

* * *

Yaaay! Takashi's expressing his interest in rifles! So, love or hate this chapter?

Oh, and sorry for taking so long. School and shit.

Review and all that junk.


	6. Chapter 6

Check out my profile for a poll! It's a pretty important one so I would advise doing so.

Reviews:

**Gorbad Ironclaw**: You're name is so fucking familiar to me. It sounds like one of my old Guild Wars 2 buddies. And Living Colour is an American band that is most noted for their song 'Cult of Personality'. It's really good, in my opinion and I would suggest looking it up. There wasn't really much I could change in the chapter, seeing as how he couldn't really do anything differently. Saving Alice's dad was something I had thought about doing for a short while, but I wouldn't really know what to do with him.

**badkarma00**: It will probably happen... eventually...

**SSJ3 Kyuubi Gohan**: Wow, not hard to pick out your favorite manga/anime, huh? xD Yea, I have some interesting things planned. Note how Takashi has an appeal to rifles, and a favor to ask Kohta. ;)

**dEAD TO rIGHTS**: Thanks. Don't get me wrong. I do like Takashi/Saeko but it feels a bit typical considering how much of it is already out there. Sorry if I kinda ruined the story for ya. :(

**zinmaster24**: Wow, I kinda feel like I'm meeting a celebrity. I have read (and love) a LOT of your work. It really is an honor. Anyway, on to your review. Our situations here are kinda similar, except I'm like an addict for reviews, and all my reviewers are the cocaine dealers. I will admit that writing is a bit of a struggle for me right now, with school and that. School takes priority sadly but I do feel guilty when I get so many reviews telling me to update. They're really an inspiration to just sit down for a little while and just type.

I skipped/ am skipping over a lot of this beginning stuff because, as Gorbad had said, there isn't much of a huge change right now. Losing the audience is a possibility, but I am willing to take that risk to deliver something more entertaining later on.

I would have to say the reason that Takashi hasn't been planning much of anything recently is because he wasn't really given a chance. Everyone else seemed to have a conveniently better idea (Shizuka). Ideally, in a zombie apocalypse, you wouldn't be getting into very much, if any, conflict with the zeds. A rifle is what I imagine a prepper choosing simply for the fact that it can pick off targets at a distance.

I wouldn't really say that Rei 'hates' Takashi at this point, but more of blames him for something not his fault. Specifically, Hisashi's death. While she did the same thing in the manga/anime, he had an alibi of 'Hisashi wanted it to happen, he was already infected' but in this case everyone knew that Takashi was a crazy guy preparing for a zombie apocalypse and to her it seemed that Takashi didn't want to help her or her boyfriend out of revenge reasons, and you have to remember that they were never actually in a relationship here. Thus, she won't be forgiving Takashi very soon.

I will admit to my neglecting of Saeko. My excuse would have to be that she never _really _did anything important early on in HotD. She really was only known as the 'kickass zombie chick who only killed zombies'. She will be getting more focus in coming chapters, that I can promise.

Kohta will also have a bit of a changing moment in coming chapters. Specifically when they get to Saya's house. Look forward to that.

All aforementioned characters will definitely have some change. (You like my vagueness?)

To sum it up. Thanks for the review and I hope that you gather some solace from my response! Hope to see you review again.

**LonelyHollow117**: Bleach, and I'm assuming Halo, eh? I'm glad to see how much you like my story. It really warms my heart to see how nice people are in their reviews, and it only makes me get the story out sooner, and with better quality.

Again, thank you all for reviewing, and don't think that this chapters length comes from response alone. I took particular care to make this one longer than any previous.

* * *

"I've got to pee." All that could be heard after that statement were the various moans and groans from 'Them'. Takashi kept on walking, balancing on the wall almost like a second nature to him.

"Onii-ch an! I've really need to go!" Takashi kept walking as if he hadn't heard, completely ignoring the girl whispering harshly to him on his back. Silence reigned after that, and Takashi completely ignored the wet feeling across his back.

A curious one of 'Them' swiped it's arm across the top of the wall and he simply lifted his leg and stepped over it, not pausing in his determined walk. The roar of an engine attracted the attention of most of 'Them' and as they all turned towards the sound they were bowled over by a large Humvee.

"W-wow!" Alice uttered out, in awe of the carnage caused by the driver and passengers of the vehicle. What surprised Takashi was when the vehicle expertly slid to a stop right before the corner wall, facing near perfectly down the alley.

_Wonder whose driving... _He idly thought, returning Saeko's smile with one of his own.

"We're headed for the other side of the river. Care to come along?" She questioned playfully.

"Only if my little leeches can as well." Takashi remarked, prompting Saeko to raise a brow.

"Plural?" At that, the little dog poked his head out of Takashi's collar. "Ah..."

Seeing that the situation was growing rather precarious Takashi jumped over to the vehicle, his foot nearly getting caught by one of the hands reaching up from below him. When they were all safely inside they sped off, Rei covering the little girl's eyes as they smashed aside any of 'Them' in the way.

When they were finally out of danger Takashi glanced to Kohta.

"Glad to see you had my back. Who came up with this lifesaver?" He asked, patting the seat.

"Miss Shizuka, I think." At this, Takashi turned a calculating gaze on the supposedly ditzy nurse.

"That's three times today Miss Shizuka..." She didn't say anything to his statement, but Takashi saw how her grip on the wheel tightened ever so slightly.

* * *

Takashi was awoken to the distant sound of Kohta singing, and kept his eyes closed when he felt two weights on his body. One on his thigh and one on his shoulder. Slowly peeling his eyes open he was shocked by the sight of Saeko with her head lain quite close to his private parts, and even more shocked by Rei with her head on his shoulder. Both girls were dozing quiet peacefully, and he felt almost guilty about waking them up. Almost.

"Ahem... ladies?" He questioned, shifting slightly to wake both of them up. When they did, they looked at him, blinked rapidly, then blushed bright red and turned to look out the window in embarrassment.

"Hey Lardo, you shouldn't teach that kind of filth to little kids!" Saya shouted, frightening Kohta enough to make him murmur a 'Yes Ma'am', which amused Takashi to no end.

_Already like a couple. _He stood, and brushed his way past Saya, startling her, as he made his way onto the roof of the humvee.

"Onii-chan, you're up!" Alice yelled excitedly, waving at him from Kohta's lap.

"It appears so." He responded wistfully, nodding his good-morning to Kohta. Yesterday's excitement had back to hit him as he felt both the mental and physical exhaustion from all of it and he knew that a full night's rest in the coming days was going to be a luxury.

"We're almost there everyone!" Shizuka called, drawing everyone's eyes over to the approaching embankment. Immediately everyone grew suspicious at the sight of none of 'Them', Takashi even more so as he remembered when he was seemingly ambushed. Then Takashi remembered. He hadn't been writing stuff down!

"Shit!" He cried, pulling his trademark notebook and pencil from his pocket and jotting down notes about everything that had happened from when he had split from the group and until now.

"Is now really the time for that!?" Saya growled, smacking him lightly on the back of the head. He let out an angry huff and put the object of her scorn back into his pocket.

Although it looked safe Kohta brought the rifle up to his eye and looked closely over the coast, lowering his weapon moments later and scowling at the suspicious looking area.

"Nothing there..."

As they drove up onto the grass he hopped off instantly hand on the hilt of his shovel. Nothing happened.

"Very...odd." He mumbled to himself, glancing distrustfully around. After a tense few moments they all concluded that nothing was going to happen, and so Takashi plopped down, and pulled the Lansky Puck from his pocket. He felt for nicks or chips in the shovel as he ran his fingers carefully across the edge. After seeing that all it needed was a simple sharpening he positioned the medium grit side of the sharpener at the beginning of the edge and moved it in slow, rhythmic circles at a 30 degree angle.

Saeko took notice of what he was doing and walked up to him, glancing curiously at the sharpening stone in hand.

"Is your blade dull?" She questioned, crossing her arms.

"Eh... I wouldn't say it was 'dull'. More of... worn."

"With a Katana, a skilled user doesn't have to worry about the blade being dulled. Have you ever thought about taking up swordsmanship?" Takashi stopped for a moment. Then, with a kind smile on his face he glanced up at the older girl.

"Swordsmanship is an art full of grace, fluid movements, precision, and strength. It's a breathtaking dance of death. I am flattered you think I have the potential to become a swordsman, but I myself do not believe I am cut out for it."

"Sword Onee-chan! Hurry up, we're gonna change our clothes!" Alice called, breaking the silence that had descended upon them for the last few moments.

She stared at him for a moment longer before nodding, returning his smile, and walking in the direction of the girl's voice.

With that done, Takashi returned to sharpening his weapon. After a few moments of doing so, he ran his fingers across the blade once more. Satisfied with the sharp edge, he put both the shovel and it's sharpener away, wandering over to where Kohta was watching out for any of 'Them' with a bored expression on his face. After the boy noticed Takashi coming he perked up.

"Ah, Takashi!" He called.

"Whats up?" Takashi questioned with a raised brow.

"I present to you..." Pause for dramatic effect. "Zeke!" He finished, revealing the small white dog from yesterday.

Zeke barked loudly and proudly at his new name, displaying a rather disturbing amount of intelligence.

"Nice name..." He mumbled his approval, holding out a fist to the dog. After a curious sniff or two he felt the dogs tongue covering his hand in slimy saliva.

"I think he's thanking you for saving him yesterday!" Kohta exclaimed.

"You're the dog whisperer now, Kohta? Don't answer that." He added quickly afterwards, wiping his hand over his shirt to get rid of the dog-spit.

"Oh, and here's this, Takashi." Kohta continued, holding out the Ithaca for him. "It's a shotgun so you only have to point it in the general area of their heads-"

"Actually Kohta." He interrupted the inevitable rant that Kohta was about to go off on. "About that favor? I want you to teach me how to shoot."

Kohta's jaw dropped, and he stayed like that for a short while.

"R-really? You want _me _to teach _you_?" Kohta questioned unsteadily. Takashi rolled his eyes in amusement.

"Yes. Yes I do."

Kohta let out a breath, and seemed to be visibly glowing.

"W-well what do you want to learn? Shotguns, pistols, assault rifles?"

"Sniper Rifles. I want to become one of the best."

"That isn't an easy endeavor Takashi. Sniping requires a lot of skill. Especially alone."

"Good thing I'm being taught by one of the best then." Takashi finished with that, leaving a practically dancing Kohta to think over the new circumstances.

Takashi happened to run into the girls just after they finished changing, and they appeared to be in... the exact same clothing. Giving a shrug he glanced at the Springfield hanging off of Rei's shoulder.

"Didn't know you knew how to shoot." He drawled out with a bored tone. With a huff she glared off to the side.

"I don't, but Hirano-kun can show me. Or I could just use it like a spear." Kohta had wandered over at that point and heard her comment about abusing the gun, and Takashi saw anger flash in his eyes before he slapped a cheerful expression on his face.

"Sorry Miyamoto-san, Takashi already asked me to become his teacher, but I know you can put a bayonet on that gun, and we just happen to have one here!" While Kohta fastened the bayonet to the rifle, everyone was staring at Takashi, who returned their stares with a dull look, unperturbed by their surprise.

* * *

"Clear..." Kohta whispered from behind him.

"Yea... it's clear over here too." Takashi whispered back, then turned and waved down the hill, shouting out. "Alright, move it up. Nothing here."

Kohta had to pull off some amazing dodges to avoid the humvee as Shizuka repeated the expert driving from yesterday, sliding to a stop facing near perfectly in the direction they were going.

_Come to think of it... did she sleep at all overnight?_ A tinge of concern came over him and he made a mental note to check up on the women later. Taking note of the empty skies he took out his notepad and began scribbling. He was interrupted by one of the girls questioning him to where they were going to go. Thinking of the map in his head he closed his eyes.

"Saya's house. It's not too far, I believe." The pink-headed girl looked ready to protest but just followed along.

* * *

"Cover your eyes!" Kohta yelled as they slid into the wires stretched out across the road. The entire weight of the humvee pushing 'Them' into the wires worked as a sort of cheese grater, dismembering the walking corpses with ease.

Takashi on the other hand was laughing the whole time, despite the bad situation they looked to be in. His laughter only ceased for a short moment as Rei flew off the top of the vehicle and hit her back on the hood, landing on the ground and looking near to crying in pain.

Takashi followed her off with a grin etched onto his face.

"Who would have guessed you were so eager?"

"This isn't the time for jokes you asshole!" She cried in pain.

"Would you rather spend your last moments crying?" He remarked, lowering the Ithaca he had grabbed from before at the approaching horde. Remembering a lot of things being mentioned about recoil he aimed a little lower then he intended to hit and squeezed the trigger, bracing the butt of the weapon against his shoulder. Still not prepared for the buck of a shotgun he only took out 1 of 'Them' approaching. This time he aimed lower before squeezing the trigger, taking out at least 5 of them that were huddled together.

"Nice!" He heard Kohta call, before opening up fire with his semi-automatic from the humvee. Seconds later Saeko had appeared down by Takashi and Rei.

"It seems you need a little help protecting Miyamoto-kun." She said, not taking her eyes away from their inevitable doom. He was careful as he pulled a few bullets out of his back pocket, not letting any out to spill on the ground as any ammo they used should be used carefully.

"It would seem so." Takashi agreed, loading the bullets into the chamber. He pulled the slide back while squeezing the trigger, as Kohta had told him to do in the car, and aimed for another small huddle of 'Them'. Another 5 down.

Things were actually going pretty decently. With Takashi taking out any overwhelming groups with the shotgun and Saeko and Kohta picking off the stragglers they were actually holding their own fairly well. They only faltered when Kohta and Takashi ended up having to reload at the same time. With Saeko in danger of being overwhelmed Takashi joined her at the front with his shovel, something which she greatly appreciated, and together they were able to hold off until Kohta got some more clips.

Even Saya had gotten out of the car eventually to join in the defense. She did make the mistake of taking her eyes off the front, and Saeko had to rush to save her leaving Takashi alone.

This was where Takashi truly shined though, without any worry of hitting one of his own he lashed out viciously at anything within range, scoring a kill almost every time. Just when things were starting to fumble out of control their savior arrived.

"Everybody get down!" A voice blared, alerting both human and undead alike to the newcomers. High pressure water was used to blast 'Them' away, and gave enough time for everyone to get past the wire. Saeko was the one to represent their group when she bowed to the person directing the other people, giving her thanks for rescuing them. It just so happened to be a surprise to everyone when the person pulled off their helmet and revealed themselves to be a fairly young women with purple hair. It surprised them even more what happened next.

"Of course. I wanted to help my daughter and her friends." The women said softly, a fond expression on her face as her gaze rested on Saya.

"Mama!" Saya cried, tears in her eyes.

* * *

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